bristle: Meaning and Definition of
bris•tle
Pronunciation: (bris'ul), [key] — n., v., -tled, -tling.
—n. - one of the short, stiff, coarse hairs of certain animals, esp. hogs, used extensively in making brushes.
- anything resembling these hairs.
—v.i. - to stand or rise stiffly, like bristles.
- to erect the bristles, as an irritated animal (often fol. by up): The hog bristled up.
- to become rigid with anger or irritation: The man bristled when I asked him to move.
- to be thickly set or filled with something suggestive of bristles: The plain bristled with bayonets. The project bristled with difficulties.
- to be visibly roused or stirred (usually fol. by up).
—v.t. - to erect like bristles: The rooster bristled his crest.
- to furnish with a bristle or bristles.
- to make bristly.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.